Gross (large) examples of connective
tissues often give one a more complete mental image of connective tissue types.
Eplore the TEXTURE, CONSISTENCY, LOCATION and OTHER physical characteristics of
the connective tissues involved with the chicken wing. Observe the skin
(superficial and deep portions), the covering of the muscle tissue, the tendons
and ligaments, the tissue structures at the joint between the bones, attempt to
identify the tissue types based upon what you know. In this investigation you
will observe the epithelial, connective and muscle tissue of the chicken wing.

Materials

Chicken wing

Paper
towels

Dissection Scissors

Bone
cutter

Dissecting tray

Dissecting needle

Procedure:

1. Obtain the
chicken wing from your teacher.

2. Rinse the
chicken wing under running water and thoroughly dry it with paper towels. Place
the chicken wing in a dissecting tray.

3. Examine the skin
covering the chicken wing.

4. Remove the skin
from the wing using the scissors. CAUTION: be careful when using scissors.
Carefully cut the skin along the entire length of the chicken wing. Try not to
cut through the muscles located below the skin. See if you can detect the
difference between epidermis and dermis

5. Notice
the yellowish tissue found in small clumps on the underside of the skin. This
tissue is a type of connective tissue called adipose.

6. Observe the
muscles on the chicken wing. The muscles are covered with a layer of connective
tissue that give them a slick appearance. This connective tissue is dense
fibrous (regular). The muscles themselves are formed by bundles of pale pink
tissue that surround the bone.

7. Observe the
shiny white tissue, or tendons, at the ends of the muscles. These are also
dense fibrous (regular) connective tissue made thicker by the combined muscle
cell coverings. Tendons attach muscle to bones.

8. Notice the
whitish tissue, or ligaments, between the bones. These are also dense fibrous
(regular) connective tissue. Ligaments hold bones together.

9. CAREFULLY use
the bone cutter to cut through the wing joint. Use the scissor to snip away or
scrape away any muscle and tendon. Notice the slick white cartilage covering the
ends of the bones. This is hyaline cartilage connective tissue.

10. CAREFULLY use
the bone cutter to cut through the middle of one of the bones. Use the
dissecting needle to scrape away some of the reddish material on the interior of
the bone. This is the bone marrow and some blood cells. This represents two
types of connective tissue the contains reticular c.t. and the blood is of
course blood c.t. Additionally you are looking at compact bone c.t. surrounding
the marrow cavity.

11. Once you have
examined each tissue type thoroughly, wrap up all chicken pieces in the paper
toweling and throw all chicken material in the LAB WASTE trash and clean your
tools by spraying them with the cleaner and blotting them dry before you put
them away. Spray, wipe and dry your lab area.

12. Wash your
hands with soap and water.

Discussion
questions you should now be able to answer:

What were some
physical characteristics of the chicken skin?

Where was the
adipose tissue in the chicken wing? Describe.

What type of
tissue covers the muscles in the chicken wing? Describe.

What type of
tissue is at the end of the muscles? How is it different than the tissue on
the muscles?

What type of
tissue covers the ends of the bones? Describe.

What types of
tissue are inside the bone? Describe.

Explain how the
dissection of the chicken wing relates to the slide of different connective
tissues.

Explain how
epithelial tissue and connective tissue differ and how they are related.